Heavily Insulated

I recently received a request from Katy for cooking tips when using a Tappan oven.  This is a topic that I don't think we have touched on previously.  The Tappan Deluxe models (and probably other models too) have what is described in Tappan Materials as a "heavily insulated" oven.

They actually talk a little bit about it in some of the Owners' Manuals. I have included one of the pages below.

The Manuals actually include pages of cooking and baking times (watch for manuals on Ebay - they come up frequently and sell for ballpark $10-15.)

Adjusting Top Burners

Quite a few folks have been asking for any info. available on adjusting the top burners. Here is the info. I have from an old late 1940's manual.  It will most likely apply to the Tappan Deluxe models. I'm not certain about other models.

If this information is helpful to you (especially those converting from gas to propane), please leave a comment to help others working on the same issue. 

I received the following email from Charlie. Any advice readers can offer him regarding restoring the burners would be appreciated.

"Attached are some photos of the stove.  We just purchased it off of Craigslist for $140.  The guy we bought it from put it together from 2 stoves that he got off of Craigslist - one in Ohio and one in Illinois.  Both of those had issues with dents and wear, so he used one for parts to fix the other.  He never finished getting it working though and his wife had a change of heart and decided for a more modern stove.  Now I have to get it working with no knowledge of how to go about doing it (I tried calling appliance repairmen in the area, but none knew anything about older stoves).   I'm going to start by getting the burners cleaned and as you can see, I have some parts missing on the right side burners, so I will try to figure out how to replace those.

Any advice that anyone can give to me on what to do or who to call or where to get parts, I will gladly take.
Thanks again,
Charlie"

My advice to Charlie was.....

It might be worth your while to look for complete replacement burner - it might be difficult to get a old replacement burner top that will tightly fit (i.e. no gas leaks) your existing burner. You have the "contro-lo-eat burner" in front.

You might contact this seller on Ebay:  I have purchased parts from him in the past, as have some of Tappan Talk readers and his prices have been reasonable.

This is another resource (I purchase insulation and an oven light socket from them)

Details of a Tappan Deluxe Restoration

Jerry sent me the following email with great information on how he restored his Tappan Deluxe:

"I just finished restoring a 1948 TV 65-16.    I purchased this stove for $100 in Butler, PA just north of Pittsburgh.   I also purchased a TV 662-26 in Pittsburgh that was in poorer condition as a parts stove for $125.  I actually combined the elements of both to make one I like.  The TV 65-16 was missing one of the white bezels and a knob.  The 662-26 lost some screws, the chrome bezels, the chrome handles with the back painted centers, a drip pan, a hinge from the broiler oven, a knob for the oven light switch and the wire rack shelf in the left drawer.   I was able to adjust the pilots and burners on the stove top to work.  I also adjusted the oven and measured the temperature with my electronic bi metal thermometer.

The oven doesn't have a pilot light but is match lit.   The thermostat works but was way off and out of adjustment.  I suspect this is why this stove was taken out of service, the thermostat was off and it was burning way too hot..  I adjusted the thermostat and adjusted the flame height during the 'hold' position and was able to get the old girl to hold 350-349 degrees for 30 minutes.  The flame height on the burner "hold" position was way too high and of course the oven would heat far beyond the thermostat heating.

The back splash and all components were cleaned.  The clock took some work, but 60+ years of kitchen grease had jammed up the works.  Some spray solvent dissolved the mess after I disassembled the Telechron and then lubricated the gears and turning points with some light oil.  It's keeping perfect time now.  The Visitimer works great and the Visiminder cleaned up nicely.   New light bulbs in all. 

The "OVEN ON" light was not working on the stove.  I figured the heat switch was bad.   I cut the wires off the switch and touched them together.  Sure enough the "OVEN ON" light lit up.  I was able to purchase a normally open bi-metal thermal switch on eBay for $1.49.  The switch stays open, no current, until it reaches 140 degrees then it closes thus lighting the oven on light.  I placed it in the hole where the old switch was up against the back wall of the oven.  Now when the oven begins to heat, the light comes on.   When it cools off, the light goes off.   The TV 65-16 looks brand new now.

What I thought was corrosion was usually old food and grease.   I had to strip and repaint the center pieces of the oven and broiler handles.  I also repainted the back of the clock face to cover up some scratches and bare spots.  This stove was restored to use in the new house I purchased, a 2700 sq. ft. 1909 Foursquare that I'm lovingly going to restore.  The kitchen, of course, is going to have a late 40's theme.  This old girl should last another 63 years now.  I think she's beautiful."

And here are photos of Jerry's beautifully restored stove. I only hope mine looks that good when I am *finally* done with my restoration work!

The Big Move

Ron and Aiden were some of the first readers to send me photos of their Tappan Deluxe stove.  I posted about Mighty Whitey back on January of 2010.  Well, Mighty Whitey has done some traveling since we first met her (or is it him?).  The Tappan Deluxe has moved from Illinois to Minnesota and has a new home in a kitchen built to her specifications.  Note the built in vintage style flour and sugar bins on either side.

Tappan Deluxe Wall Oven

I received the following photo from Andrew. I've also included our email exchange.  Watch for a follow up post on a similar wall oven......



"Hi,

I came across your site while attempting to learn more about the oven shown in the attached photograph. I found the photo in a bin full of vintage photographs at an antique store, so I know little about the background. I can tell you that it appears to have been taken at a trade show in the late 1950's. The company that took the image was Chicago Photographers, once located at 26 E. Huron St. in Chicago, and the file number (if it should ever be handy) is #23463-5.

I don't know the model # (it is a Deluxe), and haven't found any examples online yet that match. Perhaps you know?

Andrew"

"Wow, thanks for sharing the photo.  Would you mind if I posted it on my blog for readers to see?  It's interesting to me that the oven appears to have the same handles w. a crest as a mid-50's Deluxe model.  Behind the men to the left must be the built in cooktop. I wonder is those are some of the Tappan executive. 

Very interesting!

TappanTalk"

"Hi TT,

Sure, go ahead and use the photo on your blog. I sent it to you in the hope that you'd share it with your followers.

I suppose the trade show might have been earlier than I'm guessing - I was going by the woman's dress which looks more late 50's than mid. But the guy on the left has on a wild tie more typical of the early to mid 50's. And the guy on the right looks like Dick Clark era stuff. So I was really just taking a stab at the date. Any idea what model it is?

I wonder if there's any information out there on the dates that Tappan participated in a trade show in Chicago. 

Andrew"

"Great, thanks. It may take a few weeks before I post, as I have a bit of a backlog in reader's stove pics to post first. [that turned out to be an understatement]

My guess is that if this was a trade show, this was an early prototype model that showed the future of Tappan products.  This would explain the older Deluxe handles.  It would also explain the round clock, etc.  If you hit the "mid-century" label on the side of my blog, you will see late 50's -early 60's versions of this type of model.  They have slim oven handles and elongated clocks.

If you look at my Feb 2nd post, that shows an ad for new Tappan wall ovens.  It has one similar (except the handles) to yours.  If you look close, the cabinets even have the same hardware as your photo.  We know that one is from a 1955 magazine.  I believe your's is just a tad earlier (because of the handles).  Of course, it's all just conjecture.

It would be fun to see if the Chicago show could be tracked down (one reader traced his stove to a state fair exhibit).  I keep hoping a Tappan employee old timer will find the blog.....

TT"

Andrew, thanks for sharing this great photo!

In the Basement

Cheryl in NY sent me the following email and photos:

"Hi

I was searching the web for info on a Tappan gas stove that was in the basement of my house (when the house was purchased) when I stumbled upon your website/blog. I don't even know if your doing this anymore, but I am going crazy trying to find someone out there that can help me.

The stove has been in my basement for 5 years now, and I got to thinking that it would look great in my kitchen, but I need to have it restored. In order to do this, I need to know the approx. year of it and who I would contact about restoration. I saw on your site you have helped some people with their questions, and I am hoping you can help me. I have attached pics of my stove - the model # is 6V 57 3 and the serial # is 40527. I haven't been able to find anything about this stove anywhere on the internet. I would also love to find a owner's manuel if possible!!

Thank you for any help you can provide, it would be greatly appreciated."

Cherly's stove is very similar to Angie's stove.  The "cove top" back splash usually indicates the 1940's.  The handles on the stove are a later 1940's version (if you look at some of the other 1940's posts, you can see the earlier handles),  Cheryl's stove also has that nice pull out cutlery drawer with dish towel drying rods.

As far as restoration companies.  There are many to choose from in the south.....but they are pricey.  I think most of the folks that stumble on my blog are doing the restoration themselves or piecing out specific parts of the restoration (e.g. reporcelain, rebuilding thermostats).  If you look through some of my older posts, you will find links to some of the resources out there.

The porcelain on this stove looks to be in very good condition (with the exception of that lower side panel - which may be hidden by cabinetry anyway).  One of my favorite tools to clean porcelain has been Clorox Magic Erasers.  They remove all kinds of gunk without scratching.  Ammonia water also works well.  If you click on the label "cleaning" on the right hand side of the blog, you will find other tips.  I usually suggest people start with giving their stove a good cleaning.....and then assess it's condition.  It's amazing how a good cleaning can put things in perspective.

Owner's Manuals regularly come up for sale on Ebay for under $10 including shipping. I have also posted (and will continue to do so) pages from various Owner's Manuals on Tappan Talk.

Any other tips for Cheryl?

















Thanks Cheryl for sharing your photos!